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In brief

Publication of an Executive Order establishing the specifications for hiring professional healthcare personnel and foreign-trained healthcare professionals.

Contents

Resulting from the declaration of general health extraordinary actions to be taken in the affected regions of the national territory to combat the serious disease of priority attention generated by the COVID-19, the Federal Ministry of Health published on 24 April 2020 on the Official Gazette of the Federation an “Executive Order by which specifications are established by the Ministries of Health, National Defense and the Navy; as well as the Institute of Health for Welfare, the Mexican Institute of Social Security and the Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers, acting as empowered units, must observe for hiring personnel mentioned therein (the “Executive Order”).

Said Executive Order establishes the specifications to simplify the procedures for hiring professional healthcare personnel that are required exclusively for the term of the health emergency.

The Executive Order also establishes that the Ministries of Health, National Defense and the Navy; as well as the Institute of Health for Welfare, the Mexican Institute of Social Security and the Institute of Security and Social Services of State Workers (the “Empowered Units”) may hire healthcare professionals who do not yet have a professional specialty certificate or the respective specialty certificate, but that such healthcare professionals have obtained during the years 2019 and 2020 a medical specialty diploma.

Likewise, the Empowered Units, the governments of the federal entities, through their corresponding ministries of health or equivalent, in their respective areas of competence and subject to their available resources and for the time of the health emergency, may hire foreign-trained professional healthcare personnel subject to:

  1. The participation of foreign personnel shall be based on an inter-institutional agreement executed with the corresponding health authority of the country of origin.
  2. The professional has the documentation that allows the exercise as a healthcare professional in the country where the relevant medical studies were undertaken.
  3. Having  a responsive letter from the health authority of the country of origin that endorses the technical capacity of professional health personnel.

The Executive Order mandates the agencies and entities of the Federal Public Administration involved to contribute within the scope of their respective powers, to grant all the administrative and legal facilities for the entry and stay in national territory of the above mentioned healthcare professionals; as well as to carry out the technical, scientific and academic cooperation activities in health and social prevention related to care for the population affected by the COVID-19.

We will keep you informed of any developments related to this Executive Order.

Author

Dr. Lopez Silva is the head of Healthcare & Life Sciences Industry Group in Mexico, as well as a member of the Steering Committee of the North American and Latin America Healthcare Group. He has more than 17 years of experience in regulation of life sciences, pharmaceutical law and biotechnology matters, having worked in the private and public sectors and at the national and international level. For several consecutive years, Dr. Lopez Silva has led the rankings for Life Sciences both nationally (Chambers Latin America) and internationally (Chambers Global).

Author

David Campos is a senior associate of the Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice Group of Baker McKenzie’s Mexico City office. David joined the Firm in 2019 after completing an LL.M. in Global Health Law and a Certificate in Food and Drug Law at Georgetown University Law Center (Washington, DC). David has more than seven years of experience advising clients in connection with regulation of life sciences and general corporate matters of the pharmaceutical industry.

Author

Alejandra Roman-Gonzalez is a support specialist in Baker McKenzie Mexico office.